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December 19, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Sunday, December 19, 1971, pulls together various records created by the federal government and links to additional resources which can provide context about the events of the day.

Previous Date: Saturday, December 18, 1971

Next Date: Monday, December 20, 1971

Schedule and Public Documents

  • The Daily Diary files represent a consolidated record of the President's activities. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    The President's day began at Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, New York

  • The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents made available transcripts of the President's news conferences; messages to Congress; public speeches, remarks, and statements; and other Presidential materials released by the White House.

    Digitized versions can be found at HathiTrust.

  • The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents.

    No Federal Register published on this date

Archival Holdings

Any selection of archival documents will necessarily be partial. You should use the documents and folders identified below as a starting place, but consult the linked collection finding aids and folder title lists and the collections themselves for context. Many documents to be found this way do not lend themselves to association with specific dates, but are essential to a complete understanding of the material.

  • Selective document listing

    President's Office Files

    The President's Office Files consists of materials drawn together by the Special Files Unit from several administrative subdivisions within the White House Office. It is the handwriting and sensitive papers sent to the Staff Secretary that now comprise much of the President's Office Files. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    President's Personal File

    The President's Personal File is essentially a President's secretary's file, kept by Rose Mary Woods, personal secretary to the President, for two purposes: (1) preserving for posterity a collection of documents particularly close to the President, whether because he dictated or annotated them, or because of the importance of the correspondent or the event concerned and (2) giving appropriate attention–letters of gratitude, invitations to White House social events, and the like–to members and important friends and supporters of the Nixon administration. This generalization does not describe all the varied materials of a file group which is essentially a miscellany, but it does identify the reason for the existence of the file group's core. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

  • The H. R. Haldeman Diaries consists of seven handwritten diaries, 36 dictated diaries recorded as sound recordings, and two handwritten audio cassette tape subject logs. The diaries and logs reflect H. R. Haldeman’s candid personal record and reflections on events, issues, and people encountered during his service in the Nixon White House. As administrative assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, Haldeman attended and participated in public events and private meetings covering the entire scope of issues in which the Nixon White House engaged in during the years 1969-1973. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Transcript of diary entry (PDF)
      Sunday, December 19th. The President in New York this morning and then back down this afternoon for his Time interview. I had no contact with him all day.

      Kissinger called this morning, really distressed, said that as a result of the Friday backgrounding on India-Pakistan that he and Scali had done. Rogers was upset about his having done it. And he's afraid Rogers will hit the President on the plane going to Bermuda tomorrow, and wanted me to ride herd on it, since Henry's going down tonight to meet with Heath in the morning. Then there were the Karnow story in the Times today and the Marvin Kalb stories on CBS regarding White House blundering, and so forth, which Henry says is a typical Rogers pattern. He always hides during a crisis, and then he attacks us after it's over. I kept pushing him on what should we do about it, and he says we should tell Rogers where to head in when he murders Kissinger, as he did on this kind of thing and after Cambodia. He said that Scali did most of the backgrounding anyway. Then Sisco was ordered to background by the President and was reamed by Rogers for doing it. Henry says the President called him this morning, upset by the Karnow story and said it reflects exactly the State Department point of view. So he's sure that State gave it to them. He says that the whole situation came close to collapse because of the deliberate sabotage of the State Department. Kissinger was the only one who had been predicting an Indian attack since July, and nobody would pay any attention to him. He says, even if we made mistakes on this, the bureaucracy should have backed us. On the backgrounding itself, it played well, Henry says, until State started their counter-fire to tear down the White House. He points out that they always say that, on China, anything that we're doing is in order to protect the President's Peking trip. They’re trying to undercut China in every possible way. He says, for four weeks, every Presidential order was not carried out. That things work fine when Rogers is out of town, but it falls apart when he's here. He's not blaming State for the situation blowing up in India-Pakistan, because that probably was inevitable. But they refused even the 30 percent possibility of solving it and it was given to Rogers to play with, to keep him quiet, and he blew it.

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      DECLASSIFIED - E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.4: by MS, NARA, June 12, 2013
      Audio Cassette 17, Side A, Withdrawn Item Number 19 [AC-17(A) Sel 18]
      Duration: 18 seconds

      He says the last four weeks was a near total disaster. Everything in foreign policy would have collapsed if we hadn't saved this. And we had to save it by dealing directly from the White House and by carrying through a monumental bluff with the Soviets, which we'll still have to maintain on the Middle East and probably won't be able to.
      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Henry points out that he has a continuing problem with the press, because he never dissociates himself from the President, where Rogers always does. He says, in the history books, India-Pakistan will be a great success, but it isn't at this point. He was obviously in one of his deeper fits of despair, and it was a little difficult to deal with him. But I think he just wanted to call and complain mainly and, as usual, was very distressed about Rogers having an opportunity to get to the President on the plane tomorrow.

      End of December 19th.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

  • The National Archives Catalog is the online portal to the records held at the National Archives, and information about those records. It is the main way of describing our holdings and also provides access to electronic records and digitized versions of our holdings. 

    The Catalog searches across multiple National Archives resources at once, including archival descriptions, digitized and electronic records, authority records, and web pages from Archives.gov and the Presidential Libraries. The Catalog also allows users to contribute to digitized historical records through tagging and transcription.

    Nixon Library Holdings

    All National Archives Units

National Security Documents

  • The President's Daily Brief is the primary vehicle for summarizing the day-to-day sensitive intelligence and analysis, as well as late-breaking reports, for the White House on current and future national security issues. Read "The President's Daily Brief: Delivering Intelligence to Nixon and Ford" to learn more.

    • No President's Daily Brief delivered on this date

  • The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Visit the State Department website for more information.

    Vol. E-10, Documents on American Republics, 1969-1972

    Cuba

    • 251. Contingency Plan Prepared in the Department of State, Washington, December 19, 1971., Washington, December 19, 1971

      The Department of State, in consultation with other agencies, prepared a contingency plan for safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Caribbean for third country vessels.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 781, Country Files, Latin America, Cuba, Vol. III, 1971. Top Secret. It was sent to the President under a covering memorandum from Kissinger, which summarized the paper and asked for Kissinger’s approval on behalf of the President.

  • The Kissinger telephone conversation transcripts consist of approximately 20,000 pages of transcripts of Kissinger’s telephone conversations during his tenure as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1974) and Secretary of State (1973-1974) during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Visit the finding aid for more information.

    Digitized versions can be found in the National Archives Catalog.

Audiovisual Holdings

  • Visit the White House Tapes finding aid to learn about the taping system's operation and archival processing.

    White House Telephone

  • The White House Photo Office collection consists of photographic coverage of President Richard Nixon meeting with prominent social, political, and cultural personalities; speaking engagements and news conferences of the President and various high-ranking members of the White House staff and Cabinet; Presidential domestic and foreign travel, including Presidential vacations; social events and entertainment involving the First Family, including entertainers present; official portraits of the President, First Family, and high-ranking members of the Nixon administration; the 1969 and 1973 Inaugurals; the President’s 1972 Presidential election campaign appearances (including speeches) and other official activities of the White House staff and the President’s Cabinet from January 20, 1969 until August 9, 1974 at the White House and the Old Executive Office Building; other locations in Washington, DC, such as The Mall; and the Presidential retreats in Camp David, Maryland, Key Biscayne, Florida, and San Clemente, California. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    Roll WHPO-8079 Photographer: Knudsen, Robert L. | Color or B&W: B&W

    • Frame(s): WHPO-8079-, President Nixon standing with the Nixon family and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale outside Marble Collegiate Church after attending services there. President Nixon speaking to members of the press in New York. 12/19/1971, New York City, New York outside of Marble Collegiate Church. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Julie Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, Ed Cox, Norman Vincent Peale, press corps members.
    • Frame(s): WHPO-8079-04, President Nixon standing with the Nixon family and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale outside Marble Collegiate church after attending services there. 12/19/1971, New York City, New York outside of Marble Collegiate Church. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Julie Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, Ed Cox, Norman Vincent Peale, Mrs. Peale, press corps members.
    • Frame(s): WHPO-8079-08, President Nixon speaking to reporters and members of the press outside Marble Collegiate church after attending services there. 12/19/1971, New York City, New York outside of Marble Collegiate Church. President Nixon, reporters and press corps members.

    Roll WHPO-8080 Photographer: Knudsen, Robert L. | Color or B&W: B&W

    • Frame(s): WHPO-8080-14A-16A, The Nixon family leaving the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. 12/19/1971, New York City, New York Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Julie Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Cox, Ed Cox, Norman Vincent Peale, Mrs. Peale, hotel staff, Peale family members.
    • Frame(s): WHPO-8080-17A-24A, President Nixon standing with the Nixon family and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale outside Marble Collegiate church after attending services there. 12/19/1971, New York City, New York Marble Collegiate Church, exterior. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Julie Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Cox, Ed Cox, Norman Vincent Peale, Mrs. Peale, hotel staff, Peale family members.
    • Frame(s): WHPO-8080-24A, President Nixon standing with the Nixon family and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale outside Marble Collegiate church after attending a religious worshp service there. 12/19/1971, New York City, New York Marble Collegiate Church, exterior. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Julie Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Cox, Ed Cox, Norman Vincent Peale, Mrs. Peale.
    • Frame(s): WHPO-8080-25A-34A, The Nixon family at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Norman Vincent Peale. 12/19/1971, New York City, New York Dr. & Mrs. Peale residence. President Nixon, Pat Nixon, Julie Eisenhower, David Eisenhower, Tricia Cox, Ed Cox, Norman Vincent Peale, Mrs. Peale, hotel staff, Peale family members.

    Roll WHPO-8081 Photographer: Grove, Andrew | Color or B&W: B&W

    • Frame(s): WHPO-8081-, Rep. James Broyhill showing a delegation from North Carolina around the decorated White House. 12/19/1971, Washington, D.C. various room, White House. James Broyhill, Mrs. Broyhill, persons from North Carolina.

    Roll WHPO-8082 Photographer: Atkins, Oliver | Color or B&W: B&W

    • Frame(s): WHPO-8082-, President Nixon seated informally with editors and others from Time Magazine. 12/19/1971, Washington, D.C. White House, Oval Office. President Nixon, Jerrold Schecter, Hugh Sidey, Henry Grunwald, Hedley Donovan.

  • The White House Communications Agency Sound Recordings Collection contains public statements that took place between 1969 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    K - Informal Presidential Remarks

    • WHCA-SR-K-252
      Remarks to press/Marble Collegiate Church-New York City. (12/19/1971)

      Runtime: 4:00

      Keywords: Press conferences, news conferences, interviews, media

      Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.

    P - Formal Presidential Remarks

    • WHCA-SR-P-711217
      Interview with Hugh Sidey, Hedley Donovan, Henry Grunwald. (12/19/1971)

      Runtime: 90:22:00

      Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.

  • The White House Communications Agency Videotape Collection contains “off-the-air” recordings of televised programs produced between 1968 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • WHCA-4898
      "Newsmakers". U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm.
      WTOP
      Runtime: 0:30
    • WHCA-4899
      "The Dick Cavett Show". U.S. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (D-MN).
      Henry Jaffe Enterprises, Inc.
      Runtime: 01:32:45
    • WHCA-4910
      Weekly News Summary, Tape I.
      ALL NETWORKS
      Runtime: 01:35:49

      19. Utley/Levine: The dollar, Cost of Living Council head Rumsfeld in the "Meet the Press" studi predicts creation of new jobs. Time Code Start: 35:52. Keywords: economy, economics, budgets, finances, recession, inflation, money, currency, monetary values, exchange rates, decreases, wages, costs, increases. Network: NBC.

      20. Utley/Briggs: President Nixon and farmers, Senators McGovern, Hubert H. Humphrey, Muskie. Time Code Start: 38:43. Keywords: Presidents, agriculture, farming, Senators, Presidential elections, campaigns, primaries, candidates. Network: NBC.

Context (External Sources)